


A Bird With Broken Wings

by Lactish



Series: DC Dance Studio AU [2]
Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Acrobatics, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Batfamily (DCU), Bisexual Wally West, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Dick Grayson is Bad at Feelings, Dick Grayson is a Ray of Sunshine, Gotham Academy, Gotham City Police Department, Other, Pan Dick Grayson, Romani Dick Grayson, nobatcest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:49:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27920017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lactish/pseuds/Lactish
Summary: Dick Grayson loved his life. He was an acrobat in Haly’s Circus with his parents, cousin, aunt & uncle, he loved it, the constant movement and excitement of waiting for the next show. This all ends abruptly when the Flying Graysons don’t fly ever again. He’s adopted into a new family with a single dad and butler. Then he meets Wally West and things start to look up again.
Series: DC Dance Studio AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2038105
Comments: 10
Kudos: 12





	1. Little Broken Bird

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again! Here is part 2 to the DC Dance AU! This one is Dick Grayson centric with some other characters as well. I apologize if any translations are incorrect. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The circus life wasn’t easy to adjust to for most people, unlike Dick who grew up in the circus. He loved the constant movement and the excitement of the upcoming show. Every time they stopped for a show Dick’s uncle and cousin would take him into the town to explore. It was the best.

He spent lots of his time with the elephants and other animals in the circus, he loved Zitka, she was his favorite elephant. The lion tamer found it funny that he got along so well with the animal. Most parents would be concerned about their child napping with animals that could easily crush a nine-year-old, not Dick’s. They knew he was safe there (which is quite funny when you leave your child with a lion for a nap). There were other felines and animals, such as dogs in the circus that he tended to play around with as well. It was fun.

Haly’s Circus had been to Gotham a few times before, all of which they had been confronted by Zucko who wanted money. Haly always said no.

The Flying Graysons were legends! People almost always came to the show to see them perform. Boy, Dick was lucky to have been born into that act. He had learned how to use the trapeze from a young age, meaning he was performing even before he had turned nine. He loved it, the adrenaline rush he got from the moment he stood up there above the crowds just wasn’t enough, the way he flew through the air doing flips and somersaults was. He loved it.

Gotham that particular night had been a mistake.

A big mistake.

That night, hundreds of people flooded the tent, excitement buzzing. Laughter and the smell of popcorn filled that tent to the brim. It was beautiful. Enjoyable.

While they prepared backstage, a little family of three had walked into the back and asked if they could take pictures with the performers. Every act loved the flash of cameras, so naturally, it was yes. When the family reached the Graysons Dick noticed the small boy hiding behind his mother.

“Hey, there little one,” he spoke calmly to the young boy, he opened his arms out towards him hoping he would come towards him.

The boy hesitated then slowly made his way towards the older boy. Dick smiled and propped the boy upon his knee and smiled at him.

They had a small chat in which Dick promised to do a quadruple somersault for him. That definitely made the boy happy.

Once the family left to go sit back in the stands, Dick grabbed the tape and wrapped parts of some of his fingers and his wrists.

John his cousin called for him and he hopped right over and slipped his hand into his cousin’s. Once they reached the outside to where the center of the performance dirt circle started he saw his father and mother or as he called them, Tata and Mama. (Father and Mother)

“Fuile! (son!)” Tata called for him.

His hand slid out of John’s grasp and ran up to his Tata who pulled him into a swinging hug. He giggled in delight, he was happy. They were a happy family.

They each made their way up the ladder leading to their perches where they would watch the show from overhead. Dick always enjoyed this part, the waiting, the excitement curling in his stomach, the giddy feeling he got before a show.

The magicians, the lion tamer, Zitika, and her trainer, the gymnasts. It was almost time.

Mama and Tata stood, Dick hopped up as well, Mama presses a soft kiss on his forehead, “Ready my little pasăre? (bird?)” she asked her excited son.

“As always!” he yipped happily.

Haly stepped into the ring, “And now the act you all have been waiting for!” he shot his arms into the air, “The Flying Graysons!”

The spotlight was on.

They all stood in their poses, bright smiles plastered on their faces, they all then began. The flips and somersaults through the air, then Dick did the one only their family had been able to accomplish, a quadruple somersault. He made it to the other side, his heart pounding in excitement, this was going to be a great night!

They reached the final few flips, and it snapped. The rope holding the trapeze everyone was on except Dick. The Graysons were supposed to fly not fall. 

He doesn’t remember much after that he does remember yelling 'Tata' and 'Mama' as they fell. He was on all fours with one arm outstretched towards them as they fell. Reaching. 

That wonderful night switched to a night no one could forget, but no one who was there could tell you what order those events went in. Was it that the Graysons fell and then the police arrived or was it the man that ran out there looking for their child then the police? Did the tent lose its air and then the rope snapped or the rope snapped then the tent went down? Did the tent go down or just the Graysons?

That night was horrid.

******************************************************************************************

Bruce Wayne was sure he would never forget that night. 

First, it was happy, then it was amazing, then it was surprise and dread.

Bruce had initially been enjoying the night (which he really couldn’t say about much), the music was honestly slightly annoying but he could manage. Before he had gone to Haly’s, he was told about the Flying Graysons and how amazing it was to see them perform. Alfred had insisted he has fun for one night in his life and bought him a ticket to the show. He had gone even though he resisted at first, now though, he was enjoying it.

He finally sat in his seat on the bleachers and waited for the show to begin. It was quite a fun show to watch, the performers dancing around as a giant elephant came out. It was mesmerizing.

He watched the show happily, waiting for the final act, the Graysons. That really did have him excited. When the announcer began to announce the final act he was on the edge of his seat, waiting for what came next.

“And now the Flying Graysons!” the man in the ring shot his hands into the air and the lights immediately shifted to the trapeze.

There stood a family, two men, two women, and two little children smiling down at the crowds below. 

And then they began.

They flipped and somersaulted through the air as if it was the easiest thing they had ever done. It seemed to come naturally to them, like second nature.

One of the little boys did a quadruple somersault which impressed Bruce quite a bit.

He watched in amazement as they moved through the air gracefully, like doing ballet.

The Graysons had reached their final most famous part. All but one of the children got onto the trapeze hooking their limbs together and swinging. Then it happened.

The ropes snapped.

The world seemed to slow down. The family fell. The Flying Graysons fell. That doesn’t just happen. Does it?

The crowd gasped and then there was silence. 

Someone screamed and the whole inside of the tent went insane.

People rushed to get out of the tent trying not to look at the cluster of people below the trapeze. That's when Bruce remembered there were two children not one. He needed to find the other child.

Bruce pushed his way through the sea of people to get to the center of the tent where the performers had once stood.

Where had that child last been? He thought to himself. The perch up there? Was it possible he was still there?

That's when he started to climb. Without thinking, Bruce took off towards the ladder on the side of one of the beams holding up the trapeze. He climbed it until he reached the top. Please let him be here.

There sat a young boy, his body pushed up against the pole going through the wooden platform. His body had closed in on itself, his face buried in his knees. Bruce unconsciously got up onto the platform and took off his blazer, got on one knee then wrapped it around the small boy sitting there crying. The boy was mumbling something he couldn’t decipher.

He bit his lip and thought. What would Alfred do? Then he spoke.

“Hey chum,” he started then paused to think, “I know exactly how you feel right now.”

That's when the boy looked up at Bruce. His small face had red cheeks and his eyes were puffy from crying. The boy was a caramel brown (think light coffee brown) color, small faded brown freckles dotted his face, his black hair was darting in every which way, and his eyes a deep-sea blue.

“D-do you?” the boy stuttered, he had a heavy accent and his chest was heaving air in and out.

“Yes, yes I do,” Bruce answered, “now how about I take you down?” he reached his large hand out to the boy.

The small boy was shaking but he calmly sold his hand into Bruce’s, his eyes were sad but hopeful.

He gave the small boy a piggyback down to the ground level before he shifted the boy into his arms so he was now holding him. The boy had once again buried his face, this time into the crook of Bruce’s neck.

Once he reached the bottom he met the police and Haly who were standing together.

“Hello,” he spoke quietly to the other people, they all looked up, “I believe this is one of the children from that family,” Bruce motioned to the boy he held.

“Oh my,” Haly gasped, “Hello Richard,” the other man spoke softly, “I am so sorry my boy.”

Richard, as Bruce now knew was the child’s name, shifted so only half of his face was visible to the others.

Haly took the young boy from him and thanked him for bringing him down from the platforms.

When Bruce turned to leave Richard held on to the corner of his blazer (which he had put on between bringing the child back down) stopping him.

“Thank you,” he looked up with his sad eyes at Bruce and spoke just barely above a whisper.

He ruffled the kid's hair and told him it was going to be alright. Then he took off. He left Richard with Haly, where he belonged. In the circus.

Alfred came along and picked up Bruce, telling him he had heard of the situation on the radio. Bruce nodded and slipped into the back of the black vehicle. The ride was entirely silent, only their quiet breathing barely making a sound. Bruce looked out the window watching other cars and huge buildings pass by in a blur. He still thought of the small child. Was he going to be okay? Where would he go now, perhaps stay in the circus or go off with a relative?

That night Bruce went to bed like any other, except he thought of that poor child watching his family fall from him and hit the ground. He closed his eyes but all he could see were the Graysons falling to their death and the little boy reaching out to them, screaming.

That night, Bruce did not sleep.

A few weeks went by and he didn’t think of it much. The day after the event he saw it on the television and in the newspaper. He tried not to think of it much (he related to it far too much for his taste).

Although, as the week went by, he thought of the small child with jet black hair and tanned skin, his eyes hopeful staring into Bruce’s own. 

One day, perhaps Saturday, Bruce was sitting in his office, paper in hand and coffee in the other. He got a call from his good friend, Gordon.

Gordon was the commissioner in the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) and had come to the circus after they were told what had happened. He had told Bruce they supposed it could have been a murder attempt that happened successfully or the trapeze really had just broken.

“Good morning commissioner,” Bruce said as he picked up the call, “how are you?”

“Good morning to you too Bruce,” Gordon responded, his voice a little shaky, “listen, Bruce, remember that kid you helped bring down from the trapeze platform?”

“Yes?” Bruce was getting suspicious, it wasn’t like Gordon to call him about stuff like this, “what about Richard?”

There was a pause on the line then Gordon spoke, “They handed him over to the state, and the state handed him to the detention center, juvenile of course.”

Bruce stopped, why would the state send a child to a juvenile detention center? Could they not just put him into foster care?

“He's been there for I’d say since the night we got him,” Gordon continued, “that’s what? Almost three weeks now, Bruce, I’m worried about him.”

Gordon had a young daughter himself, and if anything ever happened to her he would tear apart the person who did it. He was also a person who tended to worry a lot about other kids in Gotham since the place really didn’t have a good care system for children like Richard.

The call ended with Gordon saying he was getting a report and had to go. And for the first time in his life, Bruce thought the Manor was quite empty like it was missing something.

And that’s when Bruce made the call, “Hello, is this the Gotham City Juvenile Detention Center?”


	2. Sunken Sea Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Foster fathers are cool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hola, I’m just screwing around honestly, I don’t have any freaking posting schedule lol  
> Welp, enjoy this :)  
> (also warning I will be typing a slur here I will censor part of it though)!  
> (keep in mind Dick is about 9 y/o so far)(there will be a time skip later dear readers)!

Dick felt miserable. He didn’t ask to be here, he didn’t want to be here. He thought he was going to stay at the circus with Haly and the others, not in a detention center!

The place creeped him out, and it was cold. Something Dick has always hated since he was little was the cold, sure the snow was pretty, but was it worth it if the weather was freezing? No. And that was exactly what he felt here. Cold.

The people in the center were also cold. Not in the sense that they were cold to the touch, but that they were cold in their mannerism. The people there thought they could pick on him, tease him, hurt him. He felt alone. He felt miserable.

He wanted to go home, to be with his family, but there was no way. The GCPD had said so themselves, so instead of facing the problem they just handed him over to the state who just brushed him off. He was left at the Gotham City Juvenile Detention Center the night after his family’s death, alone.

Not only did the center suck, but so did its food. The food was like mush and tasted funny.

At least it wasn’t as bad as getting punched in the stomach, which seemed to happen on a daily basis for Dick. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t gotten into fights before, just not every day. When the circus traveled and would stop in a place for a few weeks, Dick and his family were called slurs and other names. This got on his nerves. At that point he wouldn’t care if he was getting into a fight with a kid older than him, he just cared that he knocked sense into them.

Dick got into a fight with some kid calling him and his family g**sies once, he came home covered in cuts and bruises. His cousin John told him to quit it, he was just going to keep coming home like that if he didn’t. He never was able to stop doing it completely, he did regulate it though, fewer nights of having to be patched up. Less fighting.

He honestly was surprised when the social worker came by to pick him up. He had been told to collect his stuff (it had barely left his duffel) and follow them. He nodded and went to grab his half full duffel bag which was smaller than himself, then headed back to the social worker. The worker signed Dick out of the center and walked the boy out of the front door. He was led to a small black car in the parking lot and told to sit in the back, which he did with no question.

They drove for a while, the social worker trying to talk to Dick (who stayed silent) from time to time. The worker never told him what was happening, until they got to their destination. The social worker got out of the car and opened the back door for Dick telling him to follow them once more. He obliged.

A medium-sized greyish building stood in front of him. They walked up to the two wooden doors, they had colorful paper ads for adoption and child care, stuff like that. They walked into the building and were greeted by a friendly receptionist who walked over and held her hand out to Dick.

“Hi there,” she started, “I believe you’re Richard Grayson?” she asked with a soft and kind smile on her face. He nodded in response and took her hand. She stood and told him to follow her, they went down a hallway passing friendly-looking cork boards with happy little stickers and cardboard cutouts pinned to them. They finally reached the door they were looking for and walked in.

Inside was a small office with windows on the side. There was a small desk with a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and a cup of half-drunk coffee on it. Next to the desk was a small metal table like thing with drawers, files were sprawled across it. Behind the desk was a small plastic chair, one that you would usually find at someone’s backyard barbeque party. On the other side of the desk was another plastic chair, the woman motioned for him to sit there.

“Just sit here and wait for a while,” she spoke calmly putting her hand on Dick’s shoulder and leading him over to the chair, “your social worker will be here in a few moments to talk to you.” and with that, she left the room closing the door behind herself.

He was alone again. Left alone in an unfamiliar place that he didn’t want to be in. He hated it.

The cold feeling he got from the detention center started to creep back into his mind.

The door opened, and a woman walked in. She had black curly hair, her skin was a nice chocolate brown, and she wore a white flower-patterned dress, gold hoop earrings hung from her ears. She pulled the seat back from the other side of the desk and looked kindly at Dick.

“Hi Richard,” she began, “I’m Olivia, I’ll be your social worker.” a small smile rested on her face.

Dick looked up at her and smiled a small sad smile back. He was scared, he wouldn’t admit to it, but he was. He didn’t know why he was here and why he needed a social worker to help him. Was it going to do him any good?

Oliva turned to the metal table like thing and opened a drawer, inside were tons of different files. She flicked through a few then paused to pull one out. She put it down on the desk in front of her and looked back at Dick.

“So, I understand that your family has recently passed and you were handed to the state, who sent you to the detention center,” her voice was low, almost a whisper, “I’m so sorry honey.” she looked back up at Dick, she looked sad for him.

He slowly nodded trying to understand everything she had just said. He had been trying not to think about his family’s death, they still hadn’t had a funeral for them and it made him feel horrible. He looked away from Oliva, he couldn’t think about his family right now, it hurt too much.

“Since then it’s been about three weeks,” she continued, “we have gotten someone who wants to adopt you Richard,” she spoke softly to the small boy.

Dick’s eyes widened and his head snapped back to her. Did someone want him? Did someone want to adopt a circus rat? Who? He thought, who wanted him? It confused him, most people outside of the circus looked at him with disgust and hate, who wanted him to live with him?

“I have to ask you a few questions now alright?” she looked at him tilting her head a little to the side.

He nodded slowly, he was still taking it in. Someone wanted him. It made him excited, but at the same time it opened up a void in his heart. He couldn’t love someone else like he did his parents. Could he?

Olivia started the questions and he answered them mindlessly. She seemed to notice and paused.

“Richard?” she asked the boy, he looked up at her, “Can you try to pay attention? I know it’s hard.” she started to tap her fingers on the table, a nervous habit. Maybe she was worried for the boy, or maybe she was worried the person who had applied for his adoption would turn away from him.

“Yeah, sorry,” Dick spoke, his voice had a heavy Romanian accent which had previously made Oliva surprised. She smiled and nodded, then began reading off more questions.

After about thirty minutes of more questions she came to an end, “Alright Richard,” she said as she stood up, “are you ready to meet your foster parent?”

He nodded surprised, he didn’t expect to meet his new family so soon. Then he paused. Wait, parent? That implied that there was only one of them, was he not being placed with a couple? Oliva started to walk out of the room, she reached her hand out to Dick indicating she wanted him to take hers. He slid his hand into hers and walked with her down the hall.

They came to the front doors that Dick had come through hours earlier. The receptionist waved goodbye to Richard and told him ‘good luck!’ before turning back to her work.

He did feel like he needed that good luck. As he walked out of the building he noticed a car. It really hadn’t been there before, he could tell. It wasn’t just because the car was new in the parking lot, it was because of how out of place it looked. Two men in suits one old and another who looked--

Wait. Dick stopped in his tracks, his fingers turning white from how hard he was holding onto the strap of his duffel. It was that man. That man. The one who came up to the platforms and brought him down. The one who had been so kind to him that night, the one who held him in his arms patting his back, the one who cared.

“Hello again Richard,” he smiled and waved at him, “are you ready?”

He nodded happily and hopped over and down the rest of the stairs bounding over to the man. Olivia smiled and patted Dick’s head.

“This is Bruce Wayne, he’s your foster father,” she smiled brightly and said her goodbyes to the three of them then took off back into the building.

Bruce smiled and patted Dick’s shoulder, then he motioned for Dick to sit in the back. Bruce went around the other side and got into the seat next to the small boy. They all buckled in and the car took off.

******************************************************************************************

A Few Days Earlier:

After his call with Gordon Bruce couldn’t relax. No matter what he did he couldn’t stop thinking about Richard. They put him in a detention center meant for child criminals. The thought of such a sweet boy in such a violent place, a place he wasn’t meant to be in disturbed him.

That day was long and tedious. He went to Wayne Enterprises and worked on a few papers for the day, but all he could think about was that poor boy.

That night when he arrived home he went to Alfred his butler.

“Alfred, I was wondering if I could get your opinion on something,” He asked the older man.

“Why yes Master Bruce,” he looked at Bruce, “go on tell me what it is.”

He sighed, was this really a good idea? “Alfred, I’m thinking of adopting.”

There was a long pause, Alfred was clearly surprised. It showed. It took a few moments then he spoke, “I was thinking it was about time.” and he smiled that warm smile he did when he was proud, “Shall I help with the arrangements of finding a child?” he asked kindly.

“No, Alfred, I have a child in mind,” he looked down at Alfred who now had an eyebrow raised, “his name is Richard Grayson.”

Alfred nodded recounting what he had been told about the boy so far, “Why, isn’t that the young lad from the circus? The one that lost his parents that night?” he turned to Bruce.

“Yes, yes he is, I’m going to go make a call,” Bruce walked off to his office upstairs and sat down at his desk chair.

He calmly picked up the phone and called, “Hello, is this the Gotham City Juvenile Detention Center?” the lady on the line confirmed and asked why he had made the call, “Well, I was thinking that Richard Grayson, the boy who was admitted by the state, that I could possibly adopt him?”

The line went quiet for a moment and then the woman spoke again, she told him Richard had been put into the adoption system so it could happen. She paused again then told him she would get in contact with his social worker, Oliva, and ask for a meeting in which Bruce could go and talk to her. He agreed and they both said goodbye then hung up. Then he thought.

He got up and grabbed a book and read for a while. Well, it actually turned out to be several hours. When he got the next call he immediately sprung up and grabbed the phone.

“Hello, Bruce Wayne speaking,” then he heard it.

“Hello, Mr. Wayne, I understand you would like to adopt Richard John Grayson?” the woman on the line paused, “I am Olivia, I will be your social worker.”

“Okay, thank you, Olivia,” he was happy, happier than he had been in a while.

“So, I have a slot open tomorrow morning when we could have our meeting, around 9:00 AM if that works?” she asked the question he had been waiting for, the meeting, which would hopefully go smoothly.

“Yes, it does, thank you, Oliva,” he was smiling, she said her goodbye and hung up.

That night he went to sleep thinking about the next day.

…..

The next morning Bruce woke with more enthusiasm than he had in a while. He put on a nice blue button-up and walked downstairs ready for the day. Alfred prepared breakfast and told Bruce to be on his ‘best behavior’ while he was in the meeting.

They both hopped into the car and took off into the streets of Gotham. The drive was about thirty minutes and once they arrived Alfred turned in his seat to face Bruce.

“Now young man,” he stated, “I would absolutely love to come in there with you and make sure you don’t make a fool of yourself, however, I can’t, so please, do well?” he said softly to him.

“Of course Alfred.” he nodded and slid out of the car and headed towards the front of the building.

He opened the door and walked into a friendly atmosphere. A woman at the front desk stood up and headed towards him.

“Hello, you must be Bruce,” she motioned towards a hallway on his left, “I’ll take you to see Olivia for your meeting.” she led him down the hall.

On their way, they passed several doors, each with a large window next to them showing the insides. There were cork boards on either side of the walls covered in posters for adoption.

They finally came to a stop and the receptionist opened the door, “This is Olivia,” she held her hand out to the woman sitting at the desk, she was in a beautiful soft purple dress smiling at them. He nodded and sat down in the plastic chair across from her.

“Hello Mr. Wayne, I’m Olivia as you know,” she held her hand out across the desk, Bruce took it and shook, “it’s great to finally meet you in person.” she smiled then turned to dig in her file holder. She pulled out one and placed it on her desk.

“So I understand you are interested in adopting Richard Grayson?” She looked up from the file on her desk and into Bruce’s eyes, she had a serious face on now.

“Yes, I met the boy the night his family died,” he paused to sigh, “I myself have been through similar trauma, I want to give the boy the family he deserves.”

Olvia nodded then pulled over her pad of paper and grabbed the pen resting on top. She flipped the cap off and wrote down a few things before looking back at Bruce.

“I want to ask you a few questions alright?” he nodded and let her continue.

They talked for a few hours before she told him she had to go, “Mr. Wayne, if you wouldn’t mind I would like to send another Social Worker over to your house to inspect it just for safety reasons.”

“Of course,” he nodded and held out his hand, “it was great meeting you, thank you.” she took it and smiled then walked out of the room and down the hall.

Bruce stood and exited the room, he thought that the meeting went quite well. Hopefully, Oliva agreed.

He made his way to the front and waved goodbye to the receptionist before heading out the doors. Alfred was already there waiting for him with the car. He slipped into the back seat and buckled himself in.

“Well, how was it sir?” the older man asked as he started to drive.

“I think that went really well Alfred,” he smiled just thinking about it.

Another thirty minutes drive home and he was sitting on the couch downstairs. He hadn’t received a phone call yet and was starting to get worried. This must be what actors feel like, after auditions, he thought.

An hour later. The phone rang.

He hopped up to grab it, “Hello, Bruce Wayne speaking…” he waited.

“Hello Mr. Wayne, this is Olivia, I was wondering if I could send the Social Worker over tomorrow afternoon,” she paused, “I also wanted to tell you that we have considered you for Richard’s foster father.”

He beamed, this was great. The meeting surely did go well. Olivia and he talked for a few more minutes before hanging up. During that time Alfred had slipped into the room.

“So, I expect it went well?” he asked happily.

Bruce just turned around and smiled.

The next few days were lots of anticipation for more phone calls, and hopefulness.

After almost five days of waiting, he got to bring Richard home. First, they met again at the office building again.

He waited outside with Alfred, standing next to the car. Then he heard the front door to the building open.

He turned and saw the small child he had that night, “Hello again Richard,” he smiled and waved at him, “are you ready?” 

He nodded happily and hopped over and down the rest of the stairs bounding over to the man. Olivia followed smiling. She stood next to the boy and patted his head.

“This is Bruce Wayne, he’s your foster father,” she smiled brightly and said her goodbyes to the three of them then took off back into the building.

Bruce smiled and patted Richard’s shoulder, then he motioned for him to sit in the back. Bruce went around the other side and got into the seat next to the small boy. They all buckled in and the car took off. This was surely the happiest he had been in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That took forever to write, also here comes the time skip!


	3. Under The Wing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this took longer than I had planned because I had some very stressful midterms (finals) and essays to finish these last few weeks. Welp glad that I’m almost done with the worst of it. Time for part of the time skip :0  
> Yay (＾▽＾)  
> CW: Bullying, name-calling

Richard (Dick) John Grayson is Bruce Wayne’s son, officially. It had taken time for all the paperwork to go through and for the court to officialize it, but it happened. It made him happy to know that he actually had a father now.

Before he actually had one, he was saying stuff like, “Oh, yeah, I’m an orphan,” but now, he was normal-ish.

It was a great feeling. Well, an almost great feeling.

Dick had a void inside himself where his love for his family had resided for so long. Over the time he spent with Bruce he found that loving him was especially hard. It wasn’t that Dick didn’t like Bruce, it was just that he felt horrible when he called him “dad”. That name had been reserved for John, his father, the one that died.

But he truly did love his new father, he loved Bruce for trying.

When he had first arrived at the Manor, Bruce knew nothing about parenting. He even had admitted to it. But he tried and that’s all Dick could ask for. He had been so afraid that Bruce was going to leave him that Dick was practically plastered to the man’s side.

For the first few nights, he spent in the manor he had constant nightmares. It was a nightly routine. He would go to bed in his room, wake up shaking in fear, run down the hall to Bruce’s room, and snuggle up then fall back asleep. That lasted for a long while. Eventually, the nightmares stopped and so did the routine. 

Things had changed. His transition from the circus to the detention center to Wayne Manor, it really changed everything for him. When he got settled in the manor he was enrolled in Gotham Academy. This posed to be an issue. It wasn’t that the school was bad or something like that, it was that Dick had never been to a real school. In the circus his family homeschooled him, it was nothing like an actual school.

When he first started at Gotham Academy, he couldn’t sit still, that was a problem that he had even now. Bruce had noted this. Then it was the fact that Dick was a very tactile person, it was extremely hard to pay attention to the lesson. Bruce noted this as well.

When the teachers started to complain that Dick couldn’t pay attention or stay still for even a moment, Bruce went in and talked to the principal. 

That's when things started to get a little easier. Sure, he felt cooped up in the classroom, but the teachers were more understanding. The students on the other hand weren’t as nice.

Whenever Dick was changing classes or walking down the hall they’d call him names, “Circus freak!” That was a common one. He refused to tell Bruce about this, he had already come into his home and changed the man’s entire life, he wasn’t about to make more problems. But he was lonely.

He didn’t have any friends to turn to, anyone who he could share interests with, he had no one but himself. He was lonely.

Until one day.

He was walking down the hall, the same thing he does every day. Except something changed.

“Hey, circus freak! How’d you like the real world, huh?” Oscar, a kid from his grade yelled out to him before snickering. A few other kids started to join in, calling him names.

“Hey, quit it!” a red-headed girl swatted at the back of Oscar’s head, “He doesn’t like that!” she protested.

He paused. Why would someone defend him? Wasn’t he a circus freak? Didn’t everyone here hate him?

The girl turned and quickly trotted over and joined Dick on his walk down the hall. She stood next to him with her books held tightly to her chest. He stared at her. Why was she being so nice to him?

“Thanks,” he mumbled, “that was really nice of you.” the girl looked up and they met each other’s eyes.

“That’s no problem,” she answered, “I don’t like it when those guys make fun of people anyway.” she paused before taking a hand off her book and offering it to Dick, “I’m Barbra Gordon,” she said cheerfully.

Dick took her hand and shook it, “I’m Dick,” he said then quickly added, “o-or Richard, whichever one you prefer…” he looked down at the ground. Barbra’s hand slipped out of his then patted his shoulder.

“Hey, it’s your name, not mine,” she smiled.

“Oh, yeah,” he looked back up, “I’m Dick then.” he gave her a half-smile. They then walked in a peaceful silence down to the science rooms.

Once they reached their class and made it to their tables, Barbra offered to sit next to Dick in class. He agreed and they pulled out seats beside each other.

That day, science was actually a little more interesting for Dick. He and Barbra chatted through class and did a partner experiment together.

School was better now that he had someone who would actually talk to him. He finally had someone to sit next to during class and to chat with during lunch and recess. 

That afternoon when Alfred picked him up from school he was excited. Once the car stopped and they reached Wayne Manor, Dick bolted out of the car and straight up to Bruce’s study.

******************************************************************************************

Bruce was in a chair reading an email when his son slammed the door to his study open. The small boy ran up to him and was practically buzzing in excitement.

“B!” he jumped into Bruce’s arm’s excited, “Today was the best!” Dick pulled back and started to hop on one foot.

“Really?” Bruce raised an eyebrow, a warm smile growing on his face, “What was so great about today?” he asked his son.

“I made a friend!” Dick yelled happily, throwing his arms into the air.

“Really?” he watched as Dick nodded enthusiastically, “Who is it?”

“Barbra!” Dick answered smiling.

Bruce thought for a second, Barbra? The name was familiar, he just couldn’t pin down why. He looked back to his son who had already begun rambling on about how great Barbra was. He immediately changed his attention to the small boy.

“... And she’s really nice, Oh!” Dick had started to pace around Bruce’s study while he talked, “And she likes a lot of the same shows as I do, maybe we could watch one together?” 

“She sounds like a great friend chum,” Bruce smiled at Dick, “are you two in the same class?”

That started Dick on another tangent.

Dick continued on his rambling for what seemed like hours before he abruptly stopped.

“Hey, B?” Dick had turned around to look Bruce in the eyes, not normal, “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course chum, you can tell me anything.” this was totally abnormal, Dick hated making eye contact or it was just his ADHD taking over. It was hard to tell. Still this was not normal. Dick usually couldn’t focus on something or someone for more than a few seconds.

“Okay,” Dick spoke in a hushed tone, “please don’t be mad…” Dick finally broke eye contact and stared at the floor.

“I won’t,” Bruce answered calmly, “you can tell me.” 

They both paused. Dick staring at the floor and Bruce staring at Dick.

“You know Oscar?” Dick shattered the silence.

“Yes, I know the kid’s parents,” Bruce thought for a moment, the mother he had met at a gala hadn’t been all that nice, she only boasted about how great her son was.

“So,” Dick began, “he isn’t all that nice like I thought maybe he would be nice if I was nice but, that didn’t work so--”

“Wait Dick,” Bruce stopped his son from rambling again, “was Oscar bullying you?”

Dick looked up at Bruce slowly, then he nodded.

Bruce immediately became anxious, thoughts of what was happening to his son flashed through his mind. Was that kid hurting Dick? Are there others hurting him? Or maybe they are taunting him? 

Why did this have to happen to his son? Why did this have to happen to his poor son? His son who had lost his parents, his family? Why?

Bruce had been lost in thought for way too long. He snapped back to reality when he heard the sniffling.

Dick was crying. 

Well not fully yet. Bruce had heard Dick cry, it was mainly wailing that (after a long while) turned into loud sobs.

“Hey, hey, hey, what’s wrong bud?” Bruce was straining, emotions had always been hard for him, much less comforting a young child.

Bruce carefully bent down and engulfed his son in a bear hug. Dick sobbed into Bruce’s shirt, his tears staining its light grey surface.

“I’m sorry I cause so many problems for you,” Dick managed between sniffles, his accent was getting thicker by the second.

“No chum, you are never a problem.” Bruce started to rub circles on Dick’s back.

“B-but, I always make everything worse,” Dick shoved his face into the crook of Bruce’s neck, “why is everything so hard?” he asked.

Dick had definitely been keeping his emotions bottled up. He hadn’t even cried about his family since he arrived at the manor, and Bruce was sure Dick was an emotional wreck, he just wasn’t showing it.

Dick finally nodded. He was now shuddering with every breath and sniffling as well. Bruce pushed back Dick so he could look him in the eyes.

“Dick honey look at me,” Bruce coaxed his son, “please.”

Dick warily looked up at Bruce.

“Dick, you are my son, I love you,” Bruce tried to get Dick to look at him.

“No matter what?” Dick looked at Bruce, he was scared.

Bruce paused, “Dick, I love you,” he pulled Dick back into a hug, “no matter what.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, that took forever! And this is a short chapter :(
> 
> Here's my Tumblr: https://lactish.tumblr.com/


	4. Learn to See

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from the song Black Bird by the Beatles.  
> Big time skip time.   
> For Context: Dick is 13 now and Barbra is 14!  
> (Real notes at end of the chapter)

It wasn’t much, Dick knew that. All he had to do was show up for a few hours then disappear back upstairs.

Bruce was having one of his fancy galas to raise money for something.

Honestly, Dick would be completely fine. He had been to a gala once before, although he hated it he was able to make it through the party. Well, that's an overstatement, he made it about an hour and a half before retreating to his bedroom.

Since this whole gala thing was quite important to Bruce, they wanted it to become important for Dick too.

This was something he was not fond of.

Even the idea of going to some fancy party with a bunch of rich snobs made his stomach tie up in knots.

Almost every time he was around rich Gothamites, he was put down, or made to be some sort of charity fund.

He hated it.

Of course, that didn’t mean that they were all bad. Dick just hadn't met any of the nice people… yet…

This time around Dick was 13 years old, and not excited in any way for this gala.

“Come on chum,” Bruce stood behind Dick as he looked into the mirror, “after two hours you can head upstairs alright?”

Dick sighed. Two hours? What was he  _ thinking _ ? That was  _ way _ too long for him to not lose it.

“Hour and a half?” He turned to face his father.

“Hmm, well,” Bruce put a hand to his chin, “I would have said yes to that if you paid attention when Alfred and I taught you how to tie a tie.” he chuckled.

Dick smiled back sheepishly.

Like he could pay attention for that long. Learning to tie a tie is one of the most boring things he had ever experienced. 

“It's not my fault I have ADHD,” Dick protested as he turned back to the mirror, “also, do I really have to have my hair gelled back like this?” he patted his hair, it was stiff.

“Yes, it looks nice,” Bruce put his hand on Dick’s shoulder, “look, I’m going to have some friends at the gala tonight, please, please, please, be on your best behavior,” he pulled Dick in for a side hug, “for me?” he looked down at his son.

“I’ll try,” Dick started on the floor.

This was going to top his last record for not losing it. The fact was, he just couldn’t sit still, or stand still, it was just too hard. He tried though, and that's what mattered.

“Thanks, chum,” Bruce rubbed his shoulder before walking out of the room.

A few minutes passed before Dick undid his tie and left it on his bed. He slipped out of his room avoiding people walking down the manor halls.

During events like this, Bruce got security and other staff to help with setting up. Now that it was almost time for the gala to begin everyone was rushing around.

It was hard to get out of the way of people. Dick had figured this out when he bumped into the fourth person rushing down the hall.  _ Hopefully, this is not what the gala will be like. _

Music started to flow through the halls. Dick decided to follow it and hope he was going the right way. 

Sure he had been living in the manor for a few years now, that however, didn’t mean he occasionally got lost.

Dick rushed down the halls looking for the source of the sound, hopefully, he would end up in the right place.

Finally reaching the ballroom Dick paused. He walked over to the inside balcony and bent down, hoping no one would see him.

Dick on the other hand had a front-row view. He could see people in fancy dresses and suits entering the room.

He had to admit, it was kind of weird to have so many people over that both  _ he  _ and Bruce barely even knew.

Actually, Bruce did know them, well, some of them not all. That still was better than none of them.

Dick really did  _ not _ want to be here tonight.  _ He  _ wanted to be in his room on his phone looking at some stupid photo of Bruce, listening to The Neighbourhood, and texting Barbra.  _ Not _ at a fancy-ass gala with literally no children but himself. It was the opposite of what a perfect night should be.

Bruce came out and crouched down next to Dick, “Hey, whatcha’ doin' there chum?” he asked.

Dick yelped in surprise, turned then pushed his back into the stone bars of the balcony. He paused, “Oh, hi B.” he giggled and sighed in relief.

“Sorry about that Dickie,” Bruce placed a hand on Dick’s shoulder, “you ready to head down?”

He was so not ready to go and talk to a bunch of fancy snobs, but what could he do about it? Nothing really.

“Okay,” Dick held out his fist, “If I win, I only stay for an hour.”

Bruce sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, “Fine, but if I win,” he paused to think for a moment, “I get to choose the movie for the next  _ whole _ week.”

Dick gasped, “You  _ wouldn’t _ !” he put a hand to his chest to add to his bit.

“Oh, but I  _ would _ !” Bruce chuckled.

They went one round, Bruce won. Two rounds, Dick won. Three…

Bruce.

  
  


_ Damnit. _ “How? How did you win?” Dick stood frozen, his hand still mid-air, mouth agape.

Bruce laughed, “Well, it’s a little something I like to call, luck.”

Dick rolled his eyes and sighed, “Fine, I’ll stay for your stupid fancy people gathering.” Bruce laughed again. This was a total strike to Dick’s ego. He just lost at Rock Paper Scissors, to his  _ Dad _ . That is one of the lowest lows in life. Well, in his opinion.

Now though, he was stuck at a stupid gala. All he had to do was get through a few hours of it then he was free.

He waited through two hours of people pinching his cheek, and others throwing slurs at him. It was once again, terrible. By the time Bruce came over and told Dick he could go back up, he was miserable. 

“Hey chum, you can head upstairs if you want to now,” Bruce looked down at his son, “you doing okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dick waved it off, “I’m fine, and yeah Imma head upstairs now,” he began walking away, “see ya!” he disappeared back up the stairs to the balcony and down the hall.

Finally making it to the ‘off-limits’ area, Dick slipped into the restroom. He loosened his tie and pulled off his stiff blazer. He then reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone. The screen showed several texts from Barbra and one call. Dick dialed her number and waited as the phone rang.

“Dick?” she asked, “I have something to tell you!” her voice went up an octave as she spoke. She was excited.

“Hey Babs,” he answered gleefully, “what d’ya need to tell me?”

“So, remember that whole “new kid” rumor that was going around school last week?” he paused, it wasn’t like Babs to broach the subject of rumors. This was weird, he’d admit that at least.

“Uh, yeah?” “What about the rumor?” he questioned.

“Well, turns out, it isn't just a rumor, it's  _ true _ ,” she answered his query.

“Huh, well then, what about the new kid?” he asked.

“Well, so,” suddenly an unholy squeal of excitement ran through the phone.

“Warn me next time you are going to do that,” he chuckled, “I think I went deaf in my left ear.” he joked.

“Sorry it’s just, that new kid’s dad is a scientist, from S.T.A.R. Labs!” she sighed, “Do you know how amazing that is?”

“Mehh, you know I’m not really a science dude like that guy Bill is, but I think that’s cool,” he could hear the obvious excitement in Bab’s voice, it was reassuring to hear that every once and awhile.

“Ha yeah, I know you don’t like science as much as I do but…” Barbra started to ramble on. Dick completely lost interest and zoned out.

He thought back to the conversation. And all of a sudden he was frightened.

What if this new kid liked science too? What if Barbra left him to hang out with them? Would she leave him? Not be friends with him anymore because  _ he  _ didn't like science like her?

“...oh, my dad is calling me for dinner, gotta go bye!” Dick snapped back to reality at that.

“O-okay!” wow he really was making a fool of himself, “I’ll see you next week, bye!”

He pulled the phone down from his ear. The screen read “Call Ended”. It took a moment before he placed it face down on the counter. He paused and thought for a moment then started to take off his clothes and get in the shower.

Maybe a nice warm shower would make things better.

_ They usually do. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry, this chapter took forever and it’s also shorter than usual. Everything just started back up for me, which means I’m a whole lot busier than before. Hopefully, I will be able to post the next chapter soon! But for now, υασο!  
> Go ahead and bother me on my Tumblr: https://lactish.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, that was a lot! I will update this fic as soon as I finish it’s second chapter!


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